KeyCorp Upgrades Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) to Strong-Buy

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) was upgraded by stock analysts at KeyCorp from an “overweight” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on ANET. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. KGI Securities lowered shares of Arista Networks to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Arista Networks from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $106.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.33.

Arista Networks Trading Up 5.6%

ANET opened at $101.71 on Wednesday. Arista Networks has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $133.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.05, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.70.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Arista Networks will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.18, for a total transaction of $705,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 123,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,915,273.12. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,690 shares of company stock worth $14,525,085. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arista Networks

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $5,984,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 14.4% in the first quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 58,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after buying an additional 7,329 shares in the last quarter. Unified Investment Management acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $630,000. Berkshire Capital Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 257.6% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Capital Holdings Inc. now owns 76,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,505,000 after acquiring an additional 55,430 shares during the period. Finally, Bradyco Inc. purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $836,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.